Youth held woman while his uncle assaulted her after she tried to stop row, Clonmel Circuit Court told 

A 22-year-old man, who held a young woman while his uncle assaulted her outside a house near Tipperary Town, received a three month suspended jail term at Clonmel Circuit Court for his role in the attack. 

Judge Helen Boyle imposed this sentence on Lee O’Dwyer with an address at Teach Mhuire, Roxborough, Limerick, who pleaded guilty at the court to assaulting Samantha Smith at Mount Bruis, Tipperary on October 29, 2017 when he was  19-years-old. 

He was also directed to pay €400 compensation to Ms Smith.    

Last July, Mr O’Dwyer’s co-accused and uncle Peter Barry of Flat 5 Bank House, Bank Place, Tipperary received a three year jail term with the final year and a half suspended at Clonmel Circuit Court for assaulting and harming Ms Smith on the same occasion.

Detective Garda Donal Shine told the court gardaí called to the home of Mandy Foley at 5.30pm on October 19, 2017. Ms Foley brought gardaí to a bedroom where   Ms Smith was seated. There were marks and swelling on her face and marks on her body and arms.  

Ms Smith explained to gardai that   she intervened in a row between Peter Barry and another individual outside Ms Foley’s home after she arrived at the house in a taxi. When she tried to separate them, Peter Barry turned on her and assaulted her. 

Lee O’Dwyer held her while Mr Barry continued to assault her. Mandy Foley appeared from the house and shouted at them to leave. She pulled the men from Ms Smith. 

 When Lee O’Dwyer was arrested, he initially  denied any involvement in the assault of Ms Smith. Detective Garda O’Dwyer said  he was the “lesser party” in the incident but at the same time he did assist in the assault Mr Barry committed. 

Ms Smith was treated at South Tipperary General Hospital. She  suffered bruising to her face, swelling to her nose, tenderness on her right side and chest, bruising on her hip and both legs. 

Det Garda Shine outlined that after the assault on Ms Smith, the Peter Barry and Lee O’Dwyer fled the scene.  Ms Smith’s brother and ex-boyfriend were informed of what happened and made their way in the direction of Ms Foley’s house. On the way, they came across Mr Barry and Mr O’Dwyer. Mr Barry was assaulted while Mr O’Dwyer fled. 

The court heard    both Ms Smith’s brother Simon and former boyfriend Declan Ryan were prosecuted in relation to   the assault on Mr Barry.

Det Garda Shine read Ms Smith’s victim impact statement to the court. She described how everything changed for her when she was badly beaten by Peter Barry. She suffered anxiety, stress and flashbacks  and had difficulty sleeping. She missed a lot of time at work.

She said this and the medical bills she incurred due to the assault resulted in her struggling financially. 

Ms Smith added that Mr Barry and Mr O’Dwyer lived in the same town as her and she described how her whole body shook if she had to pass them.  

Det Garda Shine said Lee O’Dwyer hadn’t any previous convictions prior to this incident but subsequently  he received  three convictions  for assault causing harm, robbery and possessing an illegal drug.  

Defence barrister Jane McCudden said Mr Barry was ten years older than her client. While Mr O’Dwyer had no previous convictions on the date of the incident, Mr Barry had in excess of 50 previous convictions. 

She outlined that the incident occurred during the Halloween Bank Holiday weekend. Mr O’Dwyer was  drinking and taking other substances earlier that night.  A physical dispute arose between Peter Barry and another man. Mr O’Dwyer tried to intervene and stop that incident. At this stage Ms Smith arrived and involved herself in  trying to separate the men. 

The barrister  pointed out  it was her client who made the first contact with the gardaí. He went to a farm house and asked that the gardaí be called when Mr Barry was being assaulted. 

Det Garda Shine confirmed the initial call the gardaí received was to the incident on the road between Declan Ryan, Simon Smith and Peter Barry. 

Ms  McCudden    said her client wrote a letter of apology to Ms Smith. She pointed to the Probation Service Report on her client, which described his   deep regret and remorse over his involvement in this incident. Meanwhile, Mr O’Dwyer successfully underwent  residential addiction treatment at Cuan  Mhuire followed by a step down programme.

Ms McCudden  appealed to Judge Boyle to give Mr O’Dwyer a chance in view of the steps he took  to rehabilitate. He was a hard worker in employment as an apprentice carpenter. He was in a stable relationship and he and his partner were due their first child in April.  

The barrister submitted that her client understood that being in his uncle’s company led him astray and now considered he needed to stay away from his uncle if he was  to continue with the good progress he has made. 

Judge Boyle said the aggravating factors in this case were Mr O’Dwyer’s participation, albeit in a lesser role, in an assault where a young woman suffered relatively serious physical and psychological injuries.    He  didn’t learn a lesson from this incident and went on to  commit assault causing  harm. Mitigating factors she took into account in imposing sentence were his guilty plea , letter of apology and participation in an addiction treatment programme. She accepted the defence’s evidence that he had turned a corner and was a productive member of society. 

Judge Boyle considered four months’ imprisonment to be the appropriate sentence and reduced it to three months in view of the guilty plea. She suspended the prison sentence on condition he keep the peace and be of good behaviour for 12 months and pay Ms Smith €400 by December 21.